VML clinches six awards at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

Kansas City advertising agency VML has nabbed six awards so far at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

VML won four Gold Cannes Lions for its work on “Mobile Medic,” an augmented reality mobile app used to recruit medical students into the Australian army. The agency collaborated with Y&R of Melbourne on the campaign. Both are part of global ad holding company WPP.

For VML, it’s a culmination of sorts to 18 months of global expansion that’s seen it open offices in Australia and Brazil, though its technical work on Mobile Medic took place in Kansas City.

“It was nice to win, but it was nicer to win in something that global,” VML CEO Jon Cook said. “The world feels a lot smaller when a company in Kansas City can contribute to recruiting medics in Australia.”

The campaign won in four categories, including best use of mobile devices. The app lets users interact with posters on university campuses, using their phones to diagnose real medical conditions.

VML also was recognized for its work on a digital campaign for Gatorade and the National Football League, and it’s been shortlisted for more awards at the Cannes festival, which is ongoing.

And VML wasn’t the only Kansas City agency to win plaudits in France.

Barkley won a Bronze Lion for its outdoor campaign for technology career hub Dice, a series of billboard ads in San Francisco, Seattle and Dallas based on “geek speak.”